Construction of a pretentious lifestyle in the context of postmodernism through social media: The example of Instagram

The differentiation of consumption practices constantly directs people to more consumption than that will meet their needs. Because of this, conspicuous consumption practices, which are the display of luxury products and goods that individuals consume in order to prove themselves to others, to show their status, to gain prestige and to be appreciated, are increasing. The widespread use of the internet around the world has brought social media tools to be more visible and used for different purposes. In this sense, social media represents one of the most suitable channels where individuals can exhibit their conspicuous consumption activities. In this way, individuals have the opportunity to easily expose their lives to others. In the study, examples of conspicuous consumption practices on Instagram in the context of postmodernism are examined. In this context, the study discusses how the luxury products shared by the influencers in order to prove something, gain respect and prestige are displayed on Instagram. The aim of the study is to reveal that Veblen's concept of conspicuous consumption has moved to social platforms with the effect of digitalization and one of the most prominent examples of this is Instagram. In the first part of the study, the concept of postmodernism is discussed and the characteristics and prominent representatives of the postmodern period are discussed. In the second part, conspicuous consumption styles are discussed and the characteristics, factors and agents of conspicuous consumption are explained. In the research part of the study, content analysis was applied on 12 Instagram accounts determined by purposeful sampling. As a result of the research, it has been determined that Instagram is a platform where conspicuous consumption practices are exhibited and that it has an influence over the consumption preferences of users.